Row by row

 Life gets in the way of things sometimes as it did this past week.  Some events interfered with ours and everything got put on hold, but we are back to the same ol' same ol' stuff again so here goes.
The top row above is the row I added to the quilt.  Fortunately this quilter put fabric in for each of us to use in her quilt if we chose to do so.  Hers is the appliqued dimensional flowers below and the stars were done by her mother who happened to be the quilter who will follow her rows.  I chose the churn dash or monkey wrench as it goes by both names, which is the pattern I put on the first row I received and added the appliqued flowers to carry her theme forward.  There are absolutely no rules in this round robin so each quilter chooses fabric and pattern.

We have had a lot of fun with this and in this small  community, we have an even dozen quilters participating.

So in the news this week, Bankrate has listed the top places and the bottom places to retire and our state came in as the number one top place to retire. This was based on a number of things including cost of living, (housing, gas, taxes), medical, recreation and others.  However, a trade off is snow and for us the isolation.  (if you can't drive, you can't get anywhere from here)  We have been here for almost 45 years and the Mr. has always had his feet firmly planted here, however the lack of public transportation and the fact that our two children are on the west coast has become an issue that as we age, we must consider.  We have wonderful friends and know that we can depend on them now, but they too are aging and have families of their own. Something also to consider for those wishing to settle here.  We are hoping to get to go camping this summer and our proximity to the mountains is wonderful, but we are also hoping to get a little traveling in also.

"Friendship is a union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond thereof virtue." ~ William Penn

Spring in Wy

 Even though we have switched to DL savings time, and spring is only a few days away, (officially),
my camera tells me...not so!  Last week this is what our prairie looked like with the wind blown snow piled up against the sagebrush and below, these two waiting to go out and face the inevitable. 

After they came in, they settled down for a long winter's nap.  The white dog was asleep in another chair leaving me one to sit in to read.  If I didn't love them so much and if they weren't so spoiled, I would be sacked out on the couch.

This week has been so busy.....on Monday I quilted all day with my buddies, Tuesday I got to go to Laramie and had lunch with a nephew and his wife and their 3 beautiful daughters who were here from Texas.  The middle child is graduating from school and on to college in the fall and they were here to look at schools.  She has gotten accepted at many schools and has made a decision I believe. 
She spent a week with us when we lived in Cheyenne and we are happy that she will be closer next year, but really all three are making their parents proud!!! Then on Wednesday, my quilting partner and I trekked across the mountain again to purchase goodies from the quilt stores and have lunch again. Yesterday my car needed an oil change and a tire fixed...(no lunch out then and probably a good thing) and I hope that today will be a day for some down time.  I haven't had time for any sewing or crafting, so no news is good news perhaps, even if it is dull reading.

  The bluebirds and red winged blackbirds are arriving and the antelope are beginning to come back
 and oh my, the prairie dogs are chattering and those are all signs of spring.  In fact, the Mr. cleaned out the bird boxes yesterday after we saw a female bluebird taking a bath in the birdbath out front. I haven't been out to the flower beds but my friend tells me stuff if peeking through the snow.

"There is no time like Spring, when life's alive in everything." ~ Christina Rosetti

Winter blue(s) sky

 Oh my gosh, am I tired of winter.  Thank goodness for the ability to sew and the friendships of the ladies who live here in Siberia...no I mean Wyo.  However, we do not have it as bad as those back east I guess.  One difference is that we do not live in suburbia or metropolis.  We have no traffic so we do not have to deal with most of the crazies who have to drive in the stuff.  Our freezers are well stocked with food and the sun does shine!!  So above is my portable sewing surface, and converted from a wooden TV tray, it works quite well.  I am so pleased with the results! It moves easily from one machine to another and is perfect for quilt squares.  Thanks goes to my buddy here who donated it to me.  This past Monday was the first exchange of quilt rows.  We all got to see what the next person in line completed from their stash or choice of quilt patterns for our next row.  Then we went to lunch and the first Monday of April, we will again see what the next quilter added to our future quilt!!  We are having fun with this.  I will go and take a picture right now of the quilt rows I received to post at a later date.

 While my daughter is planning her garden, we are shoveling snow and dealing with icy walks and snow boots and hats and gloves if we do venture out on those rare occasions.

Can you see the little face peeking out from beneath my pillows?  Both little boys got haircuts this week (I did not plan to leave them bald in this cold weather, but the weatherman doesn't confer with me). He is staying warm though don't you think?  I have also searched for my black cat, Coalette and found her also snuggled in a bed tucked down under the pillows. It's hard to see a black critter in a dark place.